Would a daytime routine be helpful for my 6 mo old?

03-27-2011, 06:17 PM

I'm looking for some advice on getting my six month old son to sleep better, particularly for nap times. I would consider him to be 'high need', or at least on that end of the spectrum, he's very active, sensitive, feeds constantly, awakens easily etc. He is very smart and has caught on to all of the ways I used to get him to sleep and fights it with everything he's got. The only ways to get him to sleep now are car rides, and my wearing him for half an hour or so, but I can't seem to put him down from the wrap anymore, even if I wait 30 minutes he wakes as soon as he hits the crib. Lying down with him doesnt do the trick either. I'm wondering if other people have had much success with having a very consistent daytime routine. We have a set bedtime routine (which works about half the time), but our days are still all over the place, mainly because I signed up for lots of baby and me classes which are all at different times of the day. I've recorded his tired times, naps time, bedtimes and wake-up times and they are completely different everyday. I don't want to waste months stressing over a routine if its just not for my baby. I would also like continue some of our classes so we get our an socialize with other moms and babies. My doc told me to just go with the flow and he'll sleep when he's tired but maybe he needs more structure than that? Has anyone had success or failure with routines, especially with a high need baby?? Any other nap time advice??

At that age I found that my baby was still too young to try to get into a routine. We were still nursing on demand and that's how she would fall asleep. I could also wear her in a carrier (I used a beco), maybe that would work better for you than a sling at this age. It was fairly easy to set her down in that onto our bed. I've always had trouble getting any baby to stay asleep when I have to lift them over a crib bar! I would also nurse her in bed and try to slip away eventually. I was really a prisoner of naptime until my baby turned 1, and I found this to be true with all of my mama friends. You wish you could wash the dishes or get some alone time. The one thing I would suggest is to be careful about how many of those mommy/baby programs you are doing during the week. And if you're going to do a few of them, I'd try to have them be around the same time (maybe 10am?), so that your baby isn't completely thrown off by having to be awake for one of them at 2pm but sleeping at that time on the other days, etc.

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Thanks Kasey! That helps. I've been meaning to get a new carrier, the sling is a little complicated to take off, and get him down without waking him. I was thinking too to start going out mid-morning, everyday, and only signing up for programs around that time, and then staying in for the afternoons. That way if he doesn't get the sleep he needs in the morning, hopefully he can catch up in the afternoon. Some of my friends seem to be on the go all day everyday, but then their babies seem so easy going, and can sleep anywhere so that works for them. I don't think thats the case with us!

Thanks again!

Amanda

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When my Son was at that age I worried about if he needed a routine or not and what I discovered was that he did not. He nursed whenever he wanted, napped whenever he wanted. We still got out and did things often but it was based around his schedule, I watched for cues and if I noticed he was becoming tired we would either stay home or leave where we were at. You mentioned that you are involved in alot, is he becoming over stimulated which is making it hard for him to relax durning these naptimes?

Another thing that I learned with my son was during times of learning something new his sleeping patterns were all over the place, sometimes he would nap for 3hrs and sometimes for 30min, but that usually came to an end once the tooth came in, or he crawled, walked etc....

Good luck!

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My LO is almost 8 months now, but I've noticed her first nap is crucial. She does not always nap at the same time, nor for the same length of time, but she does always nap in the morning. If we are on an outing in the morning, and she does not get her nap in, it throws the whole day (and night) way off. So for now, we stay in until after the first nap, and we schedule our outings for the afternoons.